The rollout of the National Broadband Network: 1st report of the 45th Parliament

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network (the committee) was established on 14 September 2016, pursuant to the agreement of the House of Representatives and the Senate, to inquire into and report on the rollout of the National Broadband Network.

The committee's establishing resolutions require the committee to report annually to each House of the Parliament until the National Broadband Network is declared built and fully operational on:

(a) rollout progress with particular regard to the NBN Co Limited Statement of Expectations issued by Shareholder Ministers on 24 August 2016;

(b) utilisation of the national broadband network in connected localities in both metropolitan and regional areas, and the identification of opportunities to enhance economic and social benefits;

(c) Australia's comparative global position with regard to residential broadband infrastructure; particularly relative to other large, developed economies;

(d) national broadband network activation rates, user demand, usage patterns and trends, and any identified impediments to the take-up of national broadband network services;

(e) any market, industry, or regulatory characteristics that may impede the efficient and cost-effective rollout of the national broadband network; and

(f) any other matter pertaining to the national broadband network rollout that the committee considers relevant.

The report is divided into the following chapters:

• Chapter 1 provides some context and background information about the development and rollout of the NBN;

• Chapter 2 provides detail about the current status of the rollout, including future planning and upgrade pathways;

• Chapter 3 provides evidence about the consumer experience when connecting to and using an NBN service;

• Chapter 4 focuses on the experience of consumers using the Sky Muster satellite service;

• Chapter 5 brings together the evidence received about the customer experience and proposes some actions to enhance the customer experience;

• Chapter 6 provides detail about the faults and customer data currently available and how this could be better collected and analysed;

• Chapter 7 discusses the evidence received about the market, industry and regulatory characteristics of the rollout; and

• Chapter 8 provides evidence about the future opportunities of the NBN, including a discussion about the innovation already achieved on the network.